Silman’s Complete Endgame Course | Jeremy Silman

Silman’s Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master by Jeremy Silman is a comprehensive and accessible guide to chess endgames, tailored for players of all levels. The book is unique in its structure, as it is divided into sections based on the reader's playing strength, ensuring that players of different skill levels can focus on the material most relevant to their current stage of development.

• This book is suitable for all levels of players
• Tailored learning path: The book is structured by rating level, ensuring that you only study what is necessary for your current understanding
• Clarity and practicality: Silman excels at simplifying complex concepts, offering practical advice and focusing on endgames that frequently arise in actual play
• Foundational knowledge: Beginners learn essential techniques such as opposition, basic checkmates, and pawn promotion.
• Advanced mastery: Advanced players gain insights into more complex positions, including knight vs. pawn endgames, bishop pairs, and advanced rook endgames
• Received the ChessCafe 2007 Book of the Year Award

Reader’s Reviews:

After reading this book, my rating jumped from 1200 to 1450. It’s clearly written and suitable for players at any level, from beginner to expert. I don’t want to sound like a commercial, but this book will improve your chess skills - Mozart Brain

As someone who owns over 20 chess books, I can confidently say this book is the ideal starting point for beginners and intermediate players looking to master endgames. While some critics have been harsh on Silman’s content, especially his broader works, this book perfectly meets my needs for studying endgames.

More advanced books, like Mark Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, are intended for expert-level players and require a solid grasp of the basic concepts that Silman lays out in his book. You need to understand these fundamentals before diving into more complex materials.

I recommend pairing this book with Logical Chess and perhaps another tactics-focused book to round out your training. Although I haven't purchased Chess Tactics for Advanced Players, it’s widely regarded as one of the best books on tactics.

If you focus on improving multiple aspects of your game, not just endgames, you will likely see rapid improvement. I suggest following this approach when buying chess books to get the most value for your money and become a stronger player overall - I RedChess

It's one of the best endgame books I’ve ever seen. The idea to divide material according to rating group is great! - Greg Kaidanov, International Grandmaster.

About the Author:

Jeremy Silman is an International Master and a world-class teacher, writer, and player who has won the American Open, the National Open, and the U.S. Open. Considered by many to be the game's preeminent instructive writer, he is the author of over thirty-six popular books, including How to Reassess Your Chess (universally accepted as a modern classic), The Amateur's Mind, The Complete Book of Chess Strategy, and The Reassess Your Chess Workbook. Jeremy also created the chess scene in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie.

Other Details:

Paperback
Pages: 530 
Dimensions: 17.8 x 4.6 x 25.4cm
ISBN-13: 9781890085100